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Commentary

Fast-Forwarding To Get To The Ads? Only After A Certain Game

Finally, a pay TV provider who gets it. Dish Network is offering up a more honest approach to TV advertising: fast-forward through the TV content to get to the TV advertising.
Dish Network, seemingly tongue in cheek, calls it
“Reverse AutoHop.” Why? Well, you can figure it out -- instead of the regular AutoHop’s fast-forwarding through commercials, this feature allows viewers to focus on
Super Bowl ads, which have their own brand consciousness separate from that of the game.

Bill Koenigsberg, president/CEO of Horizon Media, said in a press release about
“Reverse AutoHop”: “Making these entertaining ads ‘appointment watching’ after the game puts the brands front and center for an even wider audience.
Regardless of who wins the game, that’s a win for advertisers and consumers.”

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Reverse AutoHop will be available on Monday morning for those who want to watch replays
of the most popular commercials that run during the big game.

Mind you, there are plenty of other ways to see Super Bowl ads. Digital video platforms are ready to play back all
the commercials, as well as pre-teasers, outtakes, and even rejected spots.

That said, historically there has been little in the way of time-shifting for NFL games -- as well as
other sports. We all want to see sports stuff pretty much live. That’s why advertisers still pay premium TV prices for sports -- it’s live, and it has a chance of making some
immediate impression on viewers.

And, in the case of the Super Bowl, marketers now have even more chances of making an impression. Nice.